Appreciation. Homeward Pet Winter News! See how you made a difference in Winter Issue - February 2017

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1 Winter Issue - February 2017 Homeward Pet Winter News! Optimus is just one special needs animal you helped in Today, he has a loving home to call his own. See how you made a difference in Appreciation We think appreciation best describes the feeling we had at the close of Adoptions are at the heart of what we do, and one of your most remarkable accomplishments in 2016 is the number of animals you helped Homeward Pet match with loving families. A record-breaking 1,887 cats and dogs found forever homes. This is a 15 percent increase over 2015 and nearly 200 more adoptions than our previous best year. To top it off, your support allowed us to help more animals needing extensive medical procedures and intensive care than ever before. Your contributions to Whoopi s Fund for Special Needs Animals allowed Homeward Pet to provide 292 cats and dogs with medical care that ranged from emergency surgeries, vital tests and treatments to x-rays and consultations. This is nearly three times the number of special needs animals helped in Your support also enabled us to spend months socializing hoarding dogs, weeks fostering those puppies and kittens too young and vulnerable to be at the shelter, and days working with cats and dogs whose pasts left them with behavioral challenges they had yet to overcome. You believe every homeless animal deserves a second chance and together, we made this a reality in We found nearly 2,000 cats and dogs loving homes despite the cost, level of care or length of stay. What s equally rewarding, is the memories we ve helped create. Adopters reach out to us every day sharing the joy and love their companion has added to their lives. And there is no better feeling than that. Thank you for being an important part of our mission. We can t wait to see how many more lives we will change, families we will touch and differences we will make in 2017.

2 Be There For Them Every Day of the Year! Thank you to our Guardian Angel Kennel Sponsors! Anonymous (2) Faraz and Joju Saleemi Richard Bryant Mary Healy Neil & Shannon Stamp Bella s Voice Thrift Store Todd Hadley Jackie & Rem Husted Klay Jones Linda & Lester Tucker Pat Maguire Koda s Arc The Donahue Family Brian Harden & Teresia Olson Waggy Maggie Shine Patti Aguettaz The Nichols Family Nicole & Rascal G. Homeward Pet Adoption Center Matches Made. Lives Saved. Phone: Website: homewardpet.org Address: NE 177th Place, Woodinville, WA follow us on A Remarkable Year Thanks to You 2016 was an amazing year for the animals, one of significant growth and success. But, what I am most proud of, is the tremendous support you offered to all of the individual cats and dogs who arrived at our doors. Like Jelly Bean, found starving and terrified after her family left her behind. Or Tallulah, abandoned on our doorstep in freezing weather with severe allergies that caused lesions and hair loss over her entire body. And like Patrick, Macadamia, Cash, Optimus and all of the other animals who needed extraordinary medical care on their way to leading happy, healthy lives. In 2016, you helped more special needs animals than ever before, assisted in creating a record-breaking adoption year, helped launch our first-ever Cat Behavior Team, expanded our pet food bank and achieved so much more. Today, you have the opportunity to see how your endless passion for animal-welfare has had a life-changing impact on the cats and dogs of Homeward Pet. With supporters like you at our side, I am confident we can build on an outstanding year to make 2017 an even bigger success for animals in need. Thank you, Jim Keller Operations Director

3 On Their Best Behavior! Our animal behavior programs had a stellar year with the launch of our Cat Behavior Team! Volunteers began training in the fall and by December, our shyest and most anxious felines were receiving daily clicker training sessions to help them gain confidence and learn appropriate playing techniques. In less than a month s time, Behavior Team cats were flying out the doors into loving homes just in time for the holidays! Four of these Behavior Team cats had been in the shelter for over 30 days! We saw a lot of growth for our Dog Behavior Team too. Staff and volunteers worked with 106 dogs twice as many as the previous year and all have been adopted by families who are continuing their training today. Our Behavior Teams help us create bright and promising futures for every cat and dog in our care. They play a critical role in adoption success, giving our animals the guidance they need to overcome challenges that can and often times do affect their chance at finding a forever home. Bree is one dog who was changed by the amazing work and success of our Dog Behavior Team. Read Living the Bree-zy Life, for an update on how Bree has been doing in her new home.

4 Homeward Pet s Food Bank launched in 2010 and what began as a single shelf dedicated to helping local pets in need, has turned into a life-changing community program that s touching lives across Western Washington. Helping Families and Pets Everywhere Currently, Homeward Pet receives more than 140,000 pounds of pet food and supplies each year. In 2016, 111,573 pounds of donations were redistributed to partner food banks and shelters, helping more than 1,000 families feed their pets every week. Last year, we added four food banks to our network of partners and two more already in 2017! Your contributions to this program have kept beloved pets in their homes. When we support the most fragile families in our community, we aren t just fighting pet homelessness, we are preventing it.

5 savethe date! 25 27th Anniversary Adoption Event February 08 Easter B egg Hunt April 15 Fur Ball Auction & Dinner April 10 Fur Baby Shower June Learn more at homewardpet.org/events/ l l a B ru F AUCTION & DINNER Saturday, April 15, 2017 Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue, WA

6 A Greg of all Trades! His name may not be Jack but Greg Limmer is our right hand man! Over the past two years, Greg has volunteered his contracting skills to make the shelter a better and brighter place for the animals. He has earthquake proofed our clinic kennels, installed new slow-close door closures, constructed an additional storage room and built a bench in the dog room to elevate our small dog kennels. And he doesn t stop there. Greg socializes and walks the shelter dogs every week and when he isn t at Homeward Pet, he is busy whipping up a batch of his infamous chocolate chip cookies for staff and volunteers. Greg says he does everything he can for animals because of the unconditional love you receive from them when you show them you care. That s what has made a difference in my life. They don t ask questions, they re just happy to be with you, no matter how you are feeling. Greg and his wife Heidi, have adopted all of their three cats and two dogs from Homeward Pet since moving to Washington in Thank you Greg for using your unique skills to improve the shelter and change lives. Learn more about volunteering at homewardpet.org. Love is in the Air! This February, Homeward Pet is celebrating 27 years of making matches and saving lives! Since being founded, we have united more than 28,000 cats and dogs with loving companions. Come find your one and only at our 27th Anniversary Adoption Event on February 25. All adoptions will be $27, bettering your chances at finding your sweetheart!

7 Living The Bree-zy Life We aren t the only ones celebrating an anniversary! A year ago, our sweet senior Bree took one last look at Homeward Pet and was whisked away to a ten-acre piece of paradise she now calls home. Today, Bree has the life all dogs dream about. She lives with three other dogs Chloe, Duke and Fletch four goats and a pig who make each day more exciting than the last. Bree kicks off her mornings greeting Wendy and Jason in bed with kisses and tail wags. She helps Wendy with chores and is always around to carry their pig s empty feed bucket back to the house. When Bree isn t at Wendy or Jason s side, she is romping around the yard and exploring with Chloe, Duke and Fletch. Watching them has helped her become the lighthearted and happy dog she is today. Wendy and Jason say they can t imagine their lives without Bree. We have a home full of rescues and we wouldn t have it any other way. Each one is different and special and their capacity to love is truly amazing. Watching Bree learn to trust and gain confidence and even learn to play with the other dogs is a wonderful experience, Wendy says. Wendy and Jason have always had a soft spot for seniors, and what they want most for Bree is for her to have the home, family and love she s always deserved. Adopting any dog, but especially seniors for us, has been far more joyful than we ever imagined. Being there for them in their golden years is so rewarding. You try to give them the best days of their lives and I think somehow they understand what you re doing for them. You love them as if you have known them their whole lives and for us, they are part of our forever family, Wendy says. Here s Kim, our Behavior Team Coordinator with Bree. The two developed a close bond during Bree s stay at Homeward Pet. Bree spent the first seven years of her life confined to an outdoor kennel. Now, her life is a much different one. It s one filled with grassy fields, furry friends and untold adventures. Thank you to all of our supporters for giving animals like Bree their second chance. Here is Bree catching some sun in just one of the many fields she has at her new home.

8 A Look at the Numbers Thanks to you, 2016 was a record-breaking year for nearly all of our departments and programs! See how you made a difference for homeless animals last year. Adoptions from 2008 to special needs animals helped animals vaccinated public animals microchipped 1221 animals spayed or neutered